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you're quoting temperatures from two totally different areas.. boston area is further north of course the water will be colder..about nantucket being warmer then the mainland.. the mainland is always colder during winter!! unless the water is dropping into the 20s it will always be that way.much like it is cooler during the summer months.. the water affects the air temp! look at the temp colors of the gulf stream.. it makes a turn as it comes off hatteras.. thats the part of the gulf stream that really warms the water. down in snc the water will be 84 but the northern part of hatteras could be in the 60s to low 70s.. upwelling also effects the northern hatteras area too but the temps are pretty different

Dude, where are you from? I'm speaking from experience when I say that the water temperatures are warmer in RI than Mass. Are you? I don't really care whether it's warmer because of the Gulf Stream or what. The point is this guy is from Mass (I'm assuming he's from Boston area since he says he goes to NH and RI). I am also from the same area and find that you really need a 6/5/4 to make it through the winter.

And I still think I'm right about the Gulf Stream. Any time the wind is blowing out of the south, it's going to push warm water from the Gulf Stream towards the coast of RI and southern Mass. It's not just that Boston is farther north. It's the Gulf Stream too.

If we can't agree on this, I think we're gonna have to have a BENCH OFF!

getting back to the original post: get a solid 5/4 xcel drylock and you'll be good through the winter

this seems like best advice.

after a decade and a half in jerz (its goes down to 35 in winter, cant get much colder and still be liquid) this suit has treated me nicely, if you are scrawny and lose heat fast, maybe get a 6 mil, but a 5 mil is plenty so long as you are paddling and catching waves...sitting around you will get cold. I have a few buddies who are about 200 lbs and lament they get too hot in the 6 mil even on the coldest of days.
I would surf for 3 hours plus in my xcel during snowstorms and my core is fine, however, I cant feel my extremities by the end of the session. For the record, I am thick hairy mongoloid so that helps retain heat too

Yeah dude, the 6/5/4 v 5/4/3 thing is really just preference in Northern NE...as I said earlier, I surf MA, NH, and ME all winter and I do it in a 5/4. For me, it was worth the little bit of extra money to get a higher-end 5/4 that provides some extra warmth over adding the extra rubber of a 6/5.

and Pink, as you hammer all the "bad advice" about 4/3s, I'm not telling him to just get a 4/3 and call it a winter suit, but when he asks if he should have a suit between a 3/2 and a winter suit, well no, you don't NEED one, but myself and many others find it nice to not have to choose between freezing or sweating my balls off. 4/3s aren't reserved for just California, I go through my 4/3s faster than I do my 3/2s because I use them a LOT, between the late fall swells, wearing it with one of those undervests with attached hoods to stretch it a bit further into the winter, and then the spring swells before the 3/2 comes out, so I definitely consider it a pretty good investment if you're going to be surfing a lot.

I've never actually worn a suit with a legitimate detachable hood, can't speak to those, just worn the little undervest things that you throw on underneath your suit and have a hood that folds down over the neck of your suit once it's zipped up

Dude, where are you from? I'm speaking from experience when I say that the water temperatures are warmer in RI than Mass. Are you? I don't really care whether it's warmer because of the Gulf Stream or what. The point is this guy is from Mass (I'm assuming he's from Boston area since he says he goes to NH and RI). I am also from the same area and find that you really need a 6/5/4 to make it through the winter.

And I still think I'm right about the Gulf Stream. Any time the wind is blowing out of the south, it's going to push warm water from the Gulf Stream towards the coast of RI and southern Mass. It's not just that Boston is farther north. It's the Gulf Stream too.

If we can't agree on this, I think we're gonna have to have a BENCH OFF!

Mr. Pink, the proper SI terminology would have been:

MEET ME AT HORSENECK'S!!!!

Btw...I'm gonna rough the winter with only a 5/4 Drylock. And that's just for the gnarliest of cold days. Then again, doing anything I do would be hazardous to one's health very much.

Yeah dude, the 6/5/4 v 5/4/3 thing is really just preference in Northern NE...as I said earlier, I surf MA, NH, and ME all winter and I do it in a 5/4. For me, it was worth the little bit of extra money to get a higher-end 5/4 that provides some extra warmth over adding the extra rubber of a 6/5.

and Pink, as you hammer all the "bad advice" about 4/3s, I'm not telling him to just get a 4/3 and call it a winter suit, but when he asks if he should have a suit between a 3/2 and a winter suit, well no, you don't NEED one, but myself and many others find it nice to not have to choose between freezing or sweating my balls off. 4/3s aren't reserved for just California, I go through my 4/3s faster than I do my 3/2s because I use them a LOT, between the late fall swells, wearing it with one of those undervests with attached hoods to stretch it a bit further into the winter, and then the spring swells before the 3/2 comes out, so I definitely consider it a pretty good investment if you're going to be surfing a lot.

I've never actually worn a suit with a legitimate detachable hood, can't speak to those, just worn the little undervest things that you throw on underneath your suit and have a hood that folds down over the neck of your suit once it's zipped up

As long as that 4/3 has a zip pocket for that lifeproof, armored, kookproof iPhone 6S so you can trade stocks in the lineup during lulls between sets and also listed to Bieber and the Stones, then you're stoked with that 4/3.

Yeah dude, the 6/5/4 v 5/4/3 thing is really just preference in Northern NE...as I said earlier, I surf MA, NH, and ME all winter and I do it in a 5/4. For me, it was worth the little bit of extra money to get a higher-end 5/4 that provides some extra warmth over adding the extra rubber of a 6/5.

and Pink, as you hammer all the "bad advice" about 4/3s, I'm not telling him to just get a 4/3 and call it a winter suit, but when he asks if he should have a suit between a 3/2 and a winter suit, well no, you don't NEED one, but myself and many others find it nice to not have to choose between freezing or sweating my balls off. 4/3s aren't reserved for just California, I go through my 4/3s faster than I do my 3/2s because I use them a LOT, between the late fall swells, wearing it with one of those undervests with attached hoods to stretch it a bit further into the winter, and then the spring swells before the 3/2 comes out, so I definitely consider it a pretty good investment if you're going to be surfing a lot.

I've never actually worn a suit with a legitimate detachable hood, can't speak to those, just worn the little undervest things that you throw on underneath your suit and have a hood that folds down over the neck of your suit once it's zipped up

I hear ya man. I'm just a cheap b@stard so I wouldn't bother. For a guy that doesn't have either, I'm saying winter suit should come first. I like being toasty so I say 6/5 but I guess a lot of guys get away with a 5/4. To each their own!

Im from long island but I use a 5/4 with a attached hood in winter here. Its a rip curl fbomb. For me it keeps me more then warm enough. More importantly though I find it super comfortable and stretchy. I don't even feel like I'm wearing a 5/4. Just my .02

I surfed RI for three years owning just a 2mil oneil and a 5/4 hooded drylock. one pair of 5mil boots and on pair of 5 mil lobster claws. The drylock was great all winter starting around late nov. the 2 mil usually came out late april. In between seasons you just added boots and gloves accordingly.

I suggest the drylock for anyone that moves, if you are just bobbing (photogs,swimming slowly,day dreaming about summer in the winter lineup) go 6mil for you will become cold.